Projection mapping projector

Hey guys,

I’m thinking of buying myself a projector and use this for projection mapping. I have a background in 3D and I’m also into After Effects and currently I’m playing around with vvvv, so basicly I want to teach myself.

Now the thing is I’m looking for a projector but I cant seem to find any information on how to choose the right projector, what to look for in a projector etc. Of course I’m not expecting to go for architectural projections just small room projections like 2m on 1m or something, and I don’t want to spent too much money on the first one. I was looking at a budget around 500 euros. Can anyone maybe point some things out briefly, Like how many lumens are necessary for it, at what resolution… This would be much appreciated :)!

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-GT750.htm
but check caliculator first

Hi
for that money you can get a 2000-3000 lumens projector, from 1024x768 to 1280x800 or so. Optoma is pretty cheap these days and you may even think about getting a LED projector, we ve bought a 2000 lumnes Optoma LED projector for about 360 euros, which is a bit noisy but very fun to work with, as it s sized as small paperback book.
One more thing about Optoma is that all of its model come with a 3/4 threaded hole that will fit on any tripode (those for cameras) and for interior mapping that s a big plus.
What you don t get with cheap Optoma is superb color quality.
S.

Hey thanks for the replys, I will take a look at the Optoma projectors. 2 quick questions though, do the Led projectors send out enough light to be used in a room with some ambient light, and is having a zoom options important for camera calibration or do you usually dont use this.

Hi
size matters and your first question is too vague, “a room” means nothing as “some ambient light”, it s not so easy to foresee the result as many factors come into game, also vectorial white lines may do where fuzzy video clips won t. LED is of course no problem, lumens matter.

Zoom option is good, the more the zoom the more the flexibility, but it does introduce an extra factor in the mapping setup so it is (slighlty) more difficult to setup a zoom projector than a fixed lens.

Also make sure you don’t buy wide angle projectors. They are a pain to work with at the edges of the image.